Stacey Ian Humphreys (GDOC)
MARIETTA, Ga. - A death row inmate scheduled for execution this week petitioned a Cobb County court to halt his lethal injection and reduce his sentence under a new state law.
What we know:
Stacey Ian Humphreys filed a motion to stay his execution and a petition for resentencing in Cobb County Superior Court, according to court filings.
Humphreys is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. for the 2003 murders of Cynthia Williams and Lori Brown.
Defense attorneys argue Georgia's 2025 Survivor Justice Act allows individuals convicted of capital crimes before July 1, 2025, to seek reduced sentences if severe family violence or childhood abuse significantly contributed to their offenses.
Medical evaluations and experts show Humphreys endured chronic physical, emotional and sexual abuse throughout childhood, which directly altered his psychological development and triggered traumatic stress symptoms.
Humphreys is seeking a formal evidentiary hearing, a stay of execution and a sentence reduction to 10 to 30 years on the malice murder counts.
Under the petition, two consecutive life sentences he is serving for armed robbery and kidnapping would remain intact.
What we don't know:
Court filings do not indicate when the judge will rule on the requested stay of execution or if an evidentiary hearing will be granted before Sept. 16.
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The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Cobb County Superior Court filings, which detailed the motion to stay execution and petition for resentencing under Georgia law.